Who says only the rich shall inherit the net?
On an average day, all I have in my pocket are my cell phone, a few pesos enough for some sticks of cheap cigarette and my digital media player. Sabi nga ng Yano…”walang ibang pera kundi pamasahe, nakayanan ko lang pambili ng dalawang yosi…” In this day and age when no one wants to be caught dead without an ipod, (I’d rather be caught dead WITHOUT an ipod than be caught dead listening to April Boy IN my ipod!) it is a bit challenging for the financially ungifted to stay attuned with our increasingly digitalizing society.
So how do I afford a digital lifestyle when all gears and gadgets have price tags beyond my means?
Enter THE SOURCE, my cousin Elsa. Also known as THE FORGIVER (4 gives), the lending diva for all things consumerist and disposable. Cell phones, ipod, digicam, SD card, external drives, even OROCAN, glow in the dark dildo (yes!), and Astroboy collectibles! Just specify whether you want SONY or ZONY; Apple or Apol and she’ll deliver. Ask and you shall be Four-given!
I call her the REDEEMER. She’s financed the acquisition of currently, my most important gizmo—an all in one digital camera. And in a very convenient and easily repayable terms! I am truly four-given!
I’ll trial-crunch the costs of my own connectivity and digital visibility on, say, a week and see how little it is.
Generic Digital Media Player from
(4 installments of P500.00 each in a span of 2 months, paid 3 quarters of the way already)
Plays digital music, captures and plays video, takes and lets me view pictures and comes with old school “family computer type” games that keep me occupied as I while away the time. This pretty little thing is great! It incorporates into a 3” X 4” piece of tech wonder what could have been a plethora of microchips in individual casings that are takaw-nakaw. What’s more, it’s pocket-friendly both figuratively and literally. I use it mostly for taking digital photos and videos for my blog, for sharing in FB and of course for downloading digital media. It has 2 gigabyte of digital space which I also use for storage. And it’s expandable by another 2gig with its SD slot. But I say to myself, why buy an SD card when it costs just about the same buying another of this gadget? It’s a hard-working gadget and one that wouldn’t hurt you so deep in the pocket if ever you lose it or it gets broken. I had one previously which I accidentally dropped in a jar of used cooking oil (long story) and eventually got unusable. I was more worried about the loss of my files than with its own demise! It was only P1,000.00 in Quiapo—the mecca for all things cheap and
Internet Access P20.00/60 minutes
(Sometimes free.)
Assuming that my generic, low-cost digicam has a lifespan of at least 1 year, that means that I get to use it for 365 days for just a small amount of P5.47 a day of use. Add to that the cost of internet access which typically is only about P20.00 per hour. Sometimes even free when I get to use someone else’s. On average, I get online thrice a week. So here’s the equation:
5.47 X 7 days = 38.35 cost of digital equipment per week
20 X 3 = 60.00 cost of getting online on a weekly average
38.35 + 60.00 = P98.35 Total cost a week for maintaining digital lifestyle or,
P393.40 a month or,
P4,720.80 a year
—way, way below the cost of my smoking. (P7,300.00 for a year of a pack a day of Fortune Lights plus some more for Carbocistein which I buy to treat my occasional Smoker’s Cough). That’s why I’m thinking quitting smoking so I can up my online time and maybe upgrade to a better cam. Maybe next year, if by then I have not caught lung cancer yet!
So you see, with just a little, I get a digital life of my own. It is unthinkable for me to be a digital non persona.
I’ll sum it up with the phrase printed on the box of my digicam….
“If you don’t have one, you’re a loser!”
And on the cigarette pack:
“SMOKING KILLS”
smoking is worth giving up....do it sooner rather than later brad...
ReplyDeletevery funny post though....i especially like the 4giving elsa bit...